Documentary (4 page)

             
“Nice to meet you. I’m Dylan.” She shot her hand out.

             
“Kai. Sorry I’m so late,” he said with a cordial but not entirely enthusiastic smile as he shook it. He hardly seemed like the kind of guy who started panting at the sight of a woman. He appeared to be there just for business too, or bored. Oh God, she hoped not the latter. Dylan returned to her seat and he took the opposite one, removing his hat. He shook his head a little until his hair fluffed up into place. It was shorter than she remembered in the pictures. Now it was barely past his ears. There was a light shade of five o’clock shadow along his jaw. It wasn’t scruffy, just rugged, like it would tickle when he kissed her. Her gaze slid to his lips, which were a soft, pink hue. She scolded herself for the thought.
Why are you even thinking about that right now?

             
“Nina had a family emergency in the wee hours,” he explained. “I had to book a flight from L.A. last minute. She hates rescheduling things.”

             
“Oh, ok,” said Dylan, her voice still gravelly. She took a slow sip of her water to dampen her throat and to get through the silence that followed. They both stared off in various directions around the café, but every time they made eye contact a fuse seemed to light somewhere in her body, causing a sizzle, and she would always have to look away. He was really cute in person.

“She called me with some questions to ask you. You don’t mind if I don’t ask them, right?” Although the question was polite, he already seemed resolute about employing his own approach for the interview.

“Yeah, sure. No problem.” Thankfully, her voice was smooth now. Kai signaled the waitress and ordered a burger before asking Dylan if she wanted anything. She shook her head.

“Medium, lots of onions, then tomatoes and ketchup, please. Is that all right?”

“Sure thing,
Kai.
It comes with chips, too, by the way.” 

Dylan furrowed her brow in amused confusion. The menu clearly stated in bold and underlined print that lunch orders could not be placed under any circumstances before noon. It was
just a little after eleven.

“Your drink?”

“Sprite and a water.”

After the waitress wrote it down, she pressed all her dirty thoughts into his eyes when they locked gazes, and her hand even wandered across the menu, touching his when she took it. Dylan didn’t blame her, and she laughed to herself as she watched her walk away. The waitress made a slight turn back to see if Kai was checking her out and played off her disappointment when he wasn’t.

Kai folded his hands on the table. “This is a weird question, but I’ve been wondering about your name since I saw it. Hardly ever hear it on a girl.” His tone was soft, playfully curious. “Never, actually.”

“What are you saying exactly?” Dylan said, pretending to be offended.

“I’m
saying
there better be a
good
story,” Kai said, laughing.

Dylan beamed, resting back against the wooden chair. She loved telling this story. “My parents met at a Bob Dylan concert. They had both gone with dates and their ticket seat numbers put them next to each other. Both are huge music lovers and concertgoers, even today. They talked the entire time and exchanged telephone numbers secretly. Within a few days, they had broken up with their significant others and they’ve been together ever since.”

Kai smiled warmly and Dylan thought her heart might rupture as she stared at his lips again. “‘81 World Tour?” he asked, his eyes widening.

“Yup…
New Orleans.”

His eyes continued to stretch until they were as round as globes. “That’s so cool...I think I would trade my soul to see Dylan back then. And you’re kind of a cool way to remember that night. That’s awesome.”

And here’s the kicker.
It was totally inappropriate for a job interview, but Professor Jordan had told her to take risks. “My sister was
conceived
at a James Taylor cover band concert so she was named Taylor. She definitely loves to tell people that. Much better than my story, clearly,” Dylan continued. “My parents are pretty hardcore about their music.” His eyes brightened, like she had captivated him. He laughed so loudly that the few people in the café turned toward them.

“And I thought my
almost
naming story was interesting.”

“
Almost
naming?” she asked.

“My pa
rents considered naming me after a Hawaiian island.”

“So your name should be, like, Oahu right now?” she asked, trying not to laugh.

Kai laughed though. “Maui White, actually. I’m kidding. I was supposed to be named
Molo
kai, after that island. That’s what my mom wanted, and bless her heart, but thankfully, my dad refused. Kai was a compromise. Probably the one decent thing Butch ever did for me.” This time, a humorless laugh rumbled out of him that prodded at her heart. She had read that Butch White wasn’t the nicest person, much less father.

Kai leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. He twisted his face up in contemplation before he spoke again. “So is there a brother named Jackson, as in Michael, Carroll?”

Dylan laughed faintly and tried to seem unaffected by the mention of a male sibling. “McCartney, as in Paul. A street performer was playing ‘If I Fell’ near where my dad proposed, so they agreed to name their sons after Beatles. They only got one. We called my brother Mac, for short.”

There was a slight rise in the tension between them when Kai grew silent as he caught onto her strategic use of the past tense. He raked his fingers through his hair.

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry,” he whispered. His expression darkened in concern. She always felt guilty when other people reacted to Mac’s death, like she had suddenly forced her mourning onto them, but there was a terrible sadness in his eyes as he focused on her. His look said this wasn’t just commonplace sympathy. It seemed like a genuine understanding of the weight of grief, and the perennial perplexity and paralyzing anger that accompanied loss. She hadn’t read much about his mother, but she knew that his father had died in jail awaiting a second-degree murder trial when Kai was much younger. Kai had never hidden that his dad, a former boxer and failed singer, was a troubled drunk who was generous with handing out punches.
“One time he hit me so hard, it injured his knuckle, which was great because he couldn’t hit either of us for a while. I really only learned to fight to protect my mom,”
he told an interviewer once. But she supposed that the death of a parent was still the death of a parent.

“No worries. Can we talk about the project?” she asked with a smile meant to impress that she was not completely devastated that he had asked, but she really wanted to change the subject.

Kai didn’t hide his displeasure. “Can I be honest? I’m not crazy about it. It’s Nina’s idea. I get why we’re doing it, but it seems like it’s going to drive me crazy. I just wrapped with the Lava people not too long ago, so this seems like overkill.”

Dylan was disappointed that he wasn’t as excited about it as she was, but she imagined that he had been forced into agreeing to it. She had read that he and Jeremy actually shared a record label, and the label seemed to be siding with Jeremy, especially because Kai’s album was underperforming. It seemed to be a sign that they were ready to give him his walking papers.

The waitress cleared her throat for his attention when she got back to the table. She actually had a delicious-looking burger ready on the tray with the chips...and French fries. She placed it on the table with a scrap of paper jutting out from underneath the plate. When the waitress retreated to the register, he signaled with his chin for Dylan to look at the short piece of paper, which turned out to be a receipt with her number written on it. Dylan felt vague annoyance twist up in her gut, but she made light of it.

“You totally owe her a call. She probably made that burger herself after the cook refused.”

Kai rolled his eyes, smiled impishly and offered her some French fries. She liked that she had made him smile. She took a few before he stuffed an overflowing handful into his mouth. He hadn’t even ordered those. After he was done chewing, he said, “Just some of the stuff you’ll be capturing on film, I guess.”

Her heart jumped. Intentional or not, she liked that he had spoken as though she already had the job. She hoped t
hat between the two of them they could wish it into existence. “I don’t know how much of an audience you’d get for a series about you just getting phone numbers…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be getting other things too
.
” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and bit into his burger. He pushed the plate of fries back in front of her as he chewed. She accepted some more, and when she looked up, he was staring straight at her, but he looked away shortly after they made eye contact. She flushed around the collar but was incredibly flattered that she had caught him.

“If it means free French fries, I’m definitely in,” she teased and they both laughed. The waitress returned under the guise of refilling Dylan’s glass of water, but she kept her eyes glued to Kai as she poured. Dylan tried to suppress her smile when she thanked the waitress.

“So, what would make—” Dylan started to say when the waitress left, but Kai was staring at her so intensely, taking all of her in with such depth, when she turned her head that it shuttered her words back into her throat.

“I hate when that happens…lost your train of thought?” A huge smile blossomed right before he severed a fry in the middle.

Lost. Discarded. Replaced with naked pictures of you.
She recovered with a few blinks. “I was going to ask what would make it a more pleasant experience for you? The web series, I mean.”

“Not existing,” he said coldly,
in between bites. “But that’s not an option.
So, I just want some creative control over what happens, which is totally the opposite of what Nina wants.”

She thought about offering to let him be involved creatively if she got the job, but it felt too much like bribery. “Nothing’s wrong with a little vulnerability,” she said instead.

He considered the statement then shrugged. “Sometimes, it feels like I already have too much of that going on,” he mumbled, almost burying his words in his burger. But Kai quickly switched gears, letting his face soften. “So I guess I’m supposed to ask if you have any questions for me. This way you can tell Nina I stuck to the script
some
when she asks.”

Dylan shrugged and rested her chin on her palm. “It’s okay. I didn’t like your boy band.”

Kai fou
ght against his growing smile. Dylan knew that her answer had charmed him, and as she looked away to hide her own smile, the clock on the wall caught her eye. It was almost noon. She had a class at 1 P.M. It was a seminar course, the professor took attendance, and it was the only class she had on Fridays. She gestured politely above her head for the waitress’ attention and mouthed,
“Check, please.”

“Can’t stay for dessert?” Kai asked. His blue eyes stretched for just a beat. Dylan cocked a half-smile, wondering if he had meant for it to sound like a double entendre. Having dessert with Kai under either meaning didn’t sound
unpleasant
. “There’s ice cream.”

“Not this time…” she said, sighing.

Kai leaned back. “That implies there’s a next time,” he said.

Yeah, if you give me the job.
“As I understand this, only one of us has control over that,” she said, capping her words with a hopeful smile.

Kai was quick to dismiss the check with a wave when the waitress approached. “Put whatever she had on mine.” Dylan still pulled out a few dollars for the tip and placed them next to her water glass. She insisted on doing so until he relented. She stood and slung the strap of her bag on her shoulder before extending her hand to him. When he took it this time, he sandwiched it between both of his and clasped it longer than he should have as his gaze held firm on her. It was a moment that shouldn’t have been as sexy as it felt.
I’m really messed up. This guy beat the shit out of another guy in an alley. That’s not attractive.
But he was personable and he didn’t come across as that kind of guy, not that
they
ever did. He was “work” anyway, so none of that mattered.